"I'm Out" is a song recorded by American recording artist

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

, for her

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ly titled fifth studio album (2013), featuring guest vocals from Trinidadian-American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. It was written by Ciara, Minaj and Rock City brothers, Timothy and Theron Thomas. Rock City and The Co-Captains provided production. "I'm Out" made its premiere on May 22, 2013, on Ciara's official

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account and was serviced to

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

radio in the United States on June 3, 2013, as the second single from ''Ciara'' through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. Lyrically, it incorporates themes of breakups and making an ex-boyfriend regret leaving. "I'm Out" was met with general acclaim from music critics, with some praising Ciara for returning to "her ghetto origins" and being "defiant and strong" on the single, while one even called it an "essential" and the album's "best cut." Upon release, the single debuted at number 50 making a "hot shot debut" on the US ''

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and number fifty-four on the UK Singles Chart. The song also made appearances on the Australian, Canadian and German charts. The song's music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and depicts strong choreography with Ciara taking influence from " Scream", performed by

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

. The video premiered live at the

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Pre Show on June 30, 2013, followed by a live performance of the song alongside

. The song was further promoted by performances on ''

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'', ''

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'' and

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''.

Background and release

After collaborating with

on the song "I'm Legit" for Minaj's album '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - The Re-Up'', Minaj agreed to appear on Ciara's album in return. Originally, the duo had worked on just one collaboration for ''Ciara'' called "I'm Out." Speaking about Minaj's verse on the song, Ciara said, "The energy of the record is so dope, and it's really for the ladies, and Nicki she just killed the verse. She literally murdered it, like she got that throw-back, that thing that she does that's so special. She went in." Having enjoyed the process, Minaj said, "I was supposed to only do one song for her album and I think I'm going to end up doing two. I just love what she's doing and I'm so proud and I'm really excited for people to hear it." In April, Ciara confirmed that Minaj was finished with a second record for the album; in an interview with

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, Ciara said, "She's actually finishing up one now that's really it's a monster too. The moments that we have had so far have just been crazy. It's just been magical, it's been something special and I feel like the fans have always wanted to see she and I rock together." "I'm Out" premiered on May 22, 2013, via Ciara's official

account. It was officially sent to urban radio in the US on June 3, 2013. Additionally, it was the most added song at Canadian urban radio stations on June 7, 2013. "I'm Out" was released in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2013.

Composition

"I'm Out" is an electro- R&B song. It features American rapper

and was produced by The Co-Captains. It has a "fierce clapping beat" and a "sweet pop chorus", and features a "loud and bass-heavy" sound. MTV Buzzworthy called the song an "energetic, clap-laced, synth-laden track". The song opens with a "gritty opening verse" and "aggressive bars" from Minaj followed by Ciara lyrically speaking on the subject of going through a breakup and making her ex-boyfriend regret leaving her. The verse for the song introduces the concept "If you know that you better than the new girl that he on, go 'head and tell him now you gon' miss me when I'm gone". Entertainment Weekly described it as a type of electro-kissed swaggering sass factory that makes for a great summer jam.

Critical reception

Analy Dewa from Metacritic praised "I'm Out" for representing "her ghetto origins", whilst The Observer from metric called the song "indomitable" and felt that "I'm Out" "powers this album". Mikael Wood of the ''

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'' found "I'm Out" to be a particular highlight compared to the other songs from the album, saying the rest of the album had a mellow sound compared to those tracks; he ultimately praised Ciara for not playing it safe, however, seeing her adventurous with both lyrics and production. Allmusic rated the song four out of five stars. ''

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''s Ken Capobianco called the single an "essential", continuing to call the song the "best cut", adding Ciara "proves CiCi can be defiant and strong."

Chart performance

On the chart issue dated July 20, 2013, "I'm Out" debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 50, the top new entry of the week. It eventually moved 6 spots to its peak at number 44. The song also debuted at number 16 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. The single was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

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(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 digital copies in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at number 54 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at number 12 on the

UK R&B Chart Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, and previously the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and ...

Music video

Nicki Minaj revealed via her official Twitter account that Ciara and Minaj had begun filming the video and it would be directed by

Hannah Lux Davis Hannah Lux Davis (born May 17, 1986) is an American music video, commercial and film director. She's known for her work especially with female artists, such as Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christ ...

. Minaj continued to reveal that "the tone of the video will be very edgy, sexy and playful". The music video was filmed from June 1 and June 2, 2013, in New York. On June 25, 2013, Ciara played a preview of the song's video on '' Access Hollywood Live''. The video premiered on June 30, 2013, at the

red carpet. The music video begins with Ciara singing the song, showing only her red lips moving and a grill. Then Ciara and Minaj, sporting all white ensembles in an all-white room, perform synchronized dance moves. The scenes are split up with images of Ciara wearing a grill. The following scene sees Ciara long with back up dancers "channeling vintage Marilyn in white with blonde waves" this is followed by Ciara and dancers in the club. The video then moves to Ciara under a fountain "drenched" before returning to the original scene of her and Minaj

twerking Twerking (; possibly from 'to work') is a type of African-American dance, dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving Pelvic thrusting, throwing or thrusting the hips back or shaking the buttocks, often in a Partial squat, ...

and doing other sensual moves together.

Live performances

Ciara first performed the song during her mini-concert at ''

''. She performed the song as part of her setlist at L.A Gay Pride and her show at Musicalize on London O2 Arena. Ciara performed the song at the

on June 30, 2013, alongside

. On July 9, 2013, Ciara performed the song on ''

''. Later that day, she performed the song on

's ''

'', continuing her week-long takeover.

Credits and personnel

;Recording *

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio i ...

(

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) *Glenwood Studios (

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) ;Personnel *Writer - Rock City,

Onika Maraj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the " Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for he ...

, Ciara *Producer - The Co-Captains, Rock City

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Radio adds

References

{{authority control 2013 singles 2013 songs Ciara songs Nicki Minaj songs Epic Records singles Music videos directed by Hannah Lux Davis Songs written by Ciara Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Theron Thomas Songs written by Timothy Thomas